LESSON 9 • Modification to Monarchy (1st & 2nd Samuel)

INTRODUCTION

The very moment when God breathes life into our physical bodies, we seek security. A newborn baby seeks comfort in a new world outside the womb. Children flee the darkness in search of safety from the unknown. In general, we feel vulnerable to countless elements of this world and seek security in various forms. Unfortunately, we do not always have the faith to find security in the arms of God.

Joey was a vibrant four-year-old boy. He was fascinated with boats – both toys and life-sized. One weekend, Joey and his parents traveled to a cabin, which set at the shoreline of a lake. While his father was busy unloading their mini-van, Joey was busy running around the car laughing and jumping excitedly. Joey noticed a rickety pier, about forty yards away, extending into the water. Tied to the pier was a small metal boat! Joey was so focused on the boat, he ran down toward the water without saying anything to his father.

Joey ran to the end of the pier and stretched his tiny leg out as far as he could extend it toward the boat. He increased his effort to the point he lost his balance and fell into the water, which was about six feet deep. 

At the sound of the splash, Joey’s father looked around the vehicle and realized Joey wasn’t there. Without thinking, Joey’s father responded through panic and he raced to the pier and dove into the murky water. He couldn’t see Joey anywhere. He desperately reached out his hands and kicked his feet searching for any limb or touch from his son. As his lungs burned for lack of air, Joey’s father began to swim toward the surface when his hand brushed up against his son’s. His father pulled himself closer to Joey and found his son’s hands were wrapped tight around one of the pilings. When his father’s arms wrapped around him, Joey let go of his perch and allowed his father to pull him to the surface.

Once they were on the shore and both were lying there side-by-side breathing in the precious air, Joey’s father looked at his son and asked him, “Son, what were you doing hanging onto the leg of the pier?”

Joey answered simply, “Just waiting for you, Dad.”

Just like Joey placed his trust in his father, we are to seek security and comfort through our heavenly father and not through man. 

First and second Samuel entwines an important theme regarding Israel’s feeling of vulnerability and how they sought security. Rather than place their faith in God, they sought security through the establishment of an earthly king. 

The Israelites request a king in a desire for visible security. Their failure to trust in God for safety leads to a fallible, earthly kingship. Even through failures, God established a plan of salvation through Jesus Christ. Through the line of David, Christ is established as the eternal King. 

The books of Samuel show the establishment of an earthly kingship, the failures associated with this kingship as established through man, and the foretelling of an eternal King through whom man can have eternal salvation.

CONTEXTUAL OVERVIEW

The books of Samuel tell the story of the rise of a monarchy in Israel by giving the biographies of three men: Samuel, Saul, and David. When other people are involved, such as Hannah and Jonathan, they are important in how they relate to Samuel, Saul, and/or David. 

The concepts of kingship, the Ark of the Covenant, and the life of David dominate both books. One central issue is explaining the relationship between Israel’s desire for a king and the national covenant with the Lord.

The nature of the kingship, with regard to Samuel, is that the people were premature in demanding a king. Their motives had been evil. But the choice of Saul was God’s opportunity to make the main point right at the beginning. Israel’s king was to be a ruler under God. Yahweh is Israel’s king and always had been (1 Sam. 12:12). No matter how great the pressure, kingship demanded obedience to God.

Saul’s failure to obey God led to his death and the removal of his line from the kingship. David’s sins against God were more than personal violations against the Law; they were the use of the kingship itself to stand above the Law. Why was David’s line not removed from office like Saul? The possible answer is 2 Sam. 7:8-16 – the Davidic Covenant.

The Abrahamic Covenant plotted the future of God’s program to ultimately bless the world through one man – Abraham (Gen. 12:3). The blessing would come through his descendants who were to receive the land of Canaan (Gen. 17:7-8). These descendants became a nation at Mount Sinai under the Mosaic Covenant. Now, through this nation, David’s line is fixed as the line of rulers (2 Sam. 7:16; 22:51).

OUTLINE 

I. Taking Israel into its Monarchy

A. The Barren Woman (1 Sam. 1-2)
1. Hannah’s Vow (1 Sam. 1:8-18)
2. Hannah’s Prayer (1 Sam. 2:1-10)

B. Samuel, Prophet and Judge (1 Sam. 3-7)
1. Samuel’s progress against the continuing failure of Eli’s sons (1 Sam. 2:11, 18-21, 26; 3:1-21)
2. Recognizing Samuel as a prophet in their [Israel’s] midst 
(1 Sam. 3:19-21; cf. 3:1)
3. Samuel as Judge (1 Sam. 4-6)
4. Samuel is God’s kingmaker (1 Sam. 8-12)
a. Jacob predicted the rising of the king in the tribe of Judah 
(Gen. 49:10)
b. Regulations for the kingship given in Moses’ handbook 
(Deut. 17:14-20)
c. Hannah’s prayer speaks of Yahweh strengthening his king 
(1 Sam. 2:10)

C. Saul as King
1. Empowered by the Spirit of God (1 Sam. 11)
2. Saul as a successful king
a. Frees Israel from oppression (1 Sam. 14: 47-48)
b. Worships Yahweh, not idols (1 Sam. 14:35; 15:31)
c. Expels mediums and spiritists from Israel (1 Sam. 28:3)
d. David praises Saul for economic prosperity of Israel 
(2 Sam. 1:24)
3. Saul’s removal from kingship (1 Sam. 13-15)
a. Failed to follow instructions to wait for Samuel to offer a pre-battle sacrifice (1 Sam. 10:8; Deut. 12:5-14; 1 Sam. 13:1-15)
b. Failed to carry out herem against the Amalekites as commanded by the Lord (1 Sam. 15:10-26)

D. David as King
1. King Without a Throne (1 Sam. 16-31)
a. David vs. Goliath (1 Sam. 17)
b. David’s continuing success (1 Sam. 18:5-8)
c. Saul’s pursuit of David (1 Sam. 19-31)
2. David as the Model King (2 Sam. 1-10)
a. David is anointed King of Judah (2 Sam. 2:1-7)
b. David congratulates the rescuers of Saul’s body (2 Sam. 2:4-7)
c. David punishes the murderers of Saul’s son (2 Sam. 4)
d. David establishes Jerusalem as his capital and moves the ark of the covenant there (2 Sam. 7)
3. David’s Fall (2 Sam. 11-20)
a. David and Bathsheba (2 Sam. 11)
b. David’s private sin and public penalty (2 Sam. 12:7-12)
c. David loses control over his own family (2 Sam. 13-20)
4. Rounding out David’s reign (2 Sam. 21-24)
a. Psalm celebrating Yahweh as the Rock (2 Sam. 22)
b. Psalm focusing on the beauty of a righteous reign and God’s covenant with David (2 Sam. 23)

II. Completion of Kingship

A. The Promise Continued
1. The Davidic Promise (Psalm 2)
2. God’s intention of Universal Rule for his anointed king 
(Psalm 72)

B. New Testament Completion
1. Jesus born in the line of David 
(Matt. 1:1-17; Luke 2:4; Rom. 1:3)
2. Jesus received as the son of David who would introduce the coming kingdom (Mark 11:2-10; cf. Ps. 118:25-26; Zech. 9:9)
3. David and Jesus forsaken by God into their enemies’ hands (Matt. 27:46; Ps. 22:1)
4. David and Jesus mocked for believing God would deliver them (Matt. 27:43; Ps. 22:8)
5. David and Jesus physically pinned down by their enemies (Matt. 27:35; Ps. 22:16)
6. Lots cast for David’s and Jesus’ clothing 
(Matt. 27:35; Ps 22:18)
7. Thirsty and received sour wine (Matt. 27:48; Ps. 22:15)
8. David and Jesus were delivered (Matt. 28:6; Ps. 22:22-24)
9. Jesus’ resurrection was God’s public announcement of his King; fulfills Psalm 2:7
10. Jesus’ ascension into heaven fulfills Psalm 110:1
11. His reign over the nations on earth – in the future (Ps. 2:9; Rev. 19:15; 12:5)

DISCUSSION

1. How do “security” and “faith” relate in the Bible?

2. What is the story of David and Goliath really about? Is the passage teaching that belief will slay any “giant” or difficulty? Can you think of opposite examples?

3. Why is it important for the biblical writer to show that the Word of God was higher than the king’s word in Israel? Why did Saul end up in such a pitiful spiritual and psychological condition after being rejected as king? How would these principles relate to human response to God today?

4. Identify some poor decisions of David in the first part of 2 Samuel. If David is not perfect in his judgment, why is he so blessed? Why is the sin with Bathsheba such a disastrous sin if David has made mistakes before, yet continued to be blessed?

5. What effect did David’s sin with Bathsheba have on his family? How does the Bible’s frankness about failure affect you as a reader?

6. What promise kept David’s line from losing the kingship? How does this promise meet its ultimate fulfillment? How does God mark out Jesus so that on one can miss the fact that he is the promised King? How will those who are wise respond to the King?

REFERENCES

Easley, Kendell H. (2002). Holman Quick Source Guide to Understanding the Bible. Holman
Bible Publishers: Nashville, TN.